Sioux Falls Police Unveils Crime Tracking Software

There's an interactive web-based map showing crime locations in Sioux Falls which could be a valuable tool to help keep neighborhoods safe.

The website is called CrimeMapping which will open up opportunities for citizens to track crime in their area. Sioux Falls Police Public Information Officer Sam Clemens gives a couple examples of how people can take the initiative to examine the trends where they live.

“One of the things people are going to be able to do is be aware of what’s happening in their neighborhood. If there are a lot of larcenies, it will remind them to lock their doors. If there’s vandalism, it might prompt people to keep an eye out for people walking around in their area damaging or spray painting something. We’re hoping we might get some tips from this as well.”

Clemens says there are features on the website that you can customize to make the experience totally unique.

“You can set up an alert and enter your email so if there is a certain crime that happens around a particular address, you can get notified. If you want to be notified about all crimes, you can be notified that way. You could go as close as 500 feet for these notifications all the way up to two miles.”

Clemens hopes the public will use the system to keep themselves and their neighbors safe.

The police started gathering data for the program on March 1. Eventually records will be added to construct a database with three years-worth of information.